It's a Jungle Out There
by StBridget
Summary: Ninja gets out into Steve's yard and disaster strikes. Ninja the cat verse.
1. Escape

**Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators  
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The doorbell rang. Ninja's ears perked up, and he was instantly on alert, wondering who dared invade his territory. It wasn't Danny; the cat knew the sound of the Camaro and Danny's step, and anyway, Danny never knocked. Ninja watched as Steve opened the door to reveal one of the neighbors. Ninja didn't know his name—he didn't come around very often. The cat was more interested in the open door. Steve had cracked it just wide enough for his body, but there was just enough space, if Ninja scrunched himself up, that he just _might_ be able to get out.

Ninja loved his house—Steve thought it belonged to him, but the cat knew the truth. There were stairs to race up and down, a nice, comfy, big bed to snuggle in with Steve, plenty of furniture to hide under, and, of course, the lovely six-foot cat tree where he was currently perched. Still, the outside beckoned like a siren song. He only saw it through the front window, or through the door of his carrier on his way to and from the vet, and it fascinated him. There were bushes, and birds, and lizards, and small animals, and trees—a veritable jungle just waiting to be explored.

Ninja inched his way over to the door, hoping Steve wouldn't notice him. He crouched by Steve's feet, tail twitching, waiting for his opportunity. There! Ninja darted out the door and under a bush, ignoring Steve's started cry.

Ninja crouched under the bush, watching the neighbor leave and Steve go back in the house. Steve returned shortly, shaking a bag of treat. "Ninja! Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Treats!" Ninja wasn't even tempted. Treats didn't hold a candle to the world spread out before him.

Ninja began to explore, ignoring Steve's frantic cries of his name. The cat found a tree and climbed up it, crawling out on a branch and observing his surroundings. A bird chirped from the branch above him, and Ninja stalked towards it, reaching his paws up but missing as the bird flew away. Growing bored, Ninja returned to the ground and his exploration of the bushes.

After a few minutes, Ninja heard the sound of the Camaro, and Danny came bursting out, meeting Steve at the door. They gesticulated for a minute, then both men turned their attention to the yard, clearly looking for Ninja.

Ninja ignored them. A brightly-colored butterfly caught his attention and he chased it across the lawn. Danny shouted and pointed at him, but couldn't reach the cat before he disappeared in the bushes on the other side. Ninja noticed the trellis for the first time and climbed it, walking across to the middle and sitting down to observe. Once again Danny noticed him and lunged for him, Steve shouting something at Danny. Ninja glared disdainfully at Danny and sauntered off across the trellis, landing on the ground on the other side and retreating under yet another bush.

Something moving under the bush caught his attention. There was a large, many-legged thing just in front of him. Ninja sniffed it cautiously, and it reared up, waving its first few sets of legs. Ninja crouched down, tail twitching, waiting for an opportunity. When the time was right, the cat darted out a paw and pounced. Blinding pain shot through Ninja's paw and up his leg, and the world went dark.

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A/N: Ch. 2 will be up shortly, like in a couple of hours, as soon as the cat stays off my lap long enough for me to write it! LOL


	2. Rescue

Steve was talking to his neighbor when he felt the small, furry body squeeze past him and dart across the lawn to hide under a bush. He quickly excused himself. He had to get Ninja back into the house before something happened!

Steve got the bag of cat treats and stood on the porch, shaking it and calling for Ninja. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Treat!" No response. Steve scanned the yard but couldn't see the cat; there were just too many places he could hide. Steve didn't know what to do, so he did what he always did in such situations—he called Danny.

"Danny, Ninja got out!" Steve said when Danny answered the phone.

"Okay, okay, just calm down. He couldn't have gotten far."

"No, he's still in the yard," Steve replied. "I just can't find him."

"Well, let him be and he'll come in when he's hungry," Danny advised. "He probably just wants to explore."

"I can't do that!" Steve said, nearly frantic. "What if something happens? He could fall, or eat something poisonous, or run out into the street and get hit by a car, or get bitten by something, or. . ."

"Okay, okay," Danny said, interrupting the litany of doom. "I'll be right there. We'll find him, Steve."

Steve waited anxiously on the porch for Danny, keeping an eye out for the cat. He heard occasional rustling, but no sign of Ninja, not even a flash of tail. After what seemed like a small eternity, Danny arrived, coming up to him. "Okay, how are we going to do this?" He asked.

Steve thought a moment. "Let's divide the yard into quadrants." He sketched lines in the air. "You start here, in quadrant four, and I'll start here, in quadrant one."

"You would treat this like a tactical op, wouldn't you?"

"It's the most efficient way to search, Danny," Steve said.

"Yeah, yeah, much as it pains me to admit it, you're right. Let's do this." Danny turned to his quadrant in time to see Ninja dashing across the yard after a butterfly. "There he is!" But before Danny could catch him, he disappeared into the bushes on the other side. "Damn."

Soon, Ninja was back, this time on the trellis. Once again, Danny spotted him. "There!" He went charging across the yard towards the cat.

"Be careful!" Steve called after him. "Don't spook him! You don't want to get scratched again!"

"Yeah, yeah, believe me, I know. I still have the scars."

Ninja looked disdainfully at the approaching man and sauntered the rest of the way across the trellis, disappearing once again into the bushes. This time, Danny was hot on his trail, parting the bushes until he found the cat. "Got him!" There was a pause. "Shit!"

"Danny, what's wrong?" Steve asked, hurrying to the blond's side.

"There's a centipede here. I think it stung Ninja."

Steve peered over Danny's shoulder. Sure enough, there was Ninja, lying motionless, breathing shallowly. In front of him was a four-inch centipede reared up waving its legs. "Shit. We've got to get him to the vet."

"We have to get him out, first," Danny pointed out. "We don't want to get stung, too."

"I've got some gloves in the truck," Steve said. "I'll get Ninja. You call the vet."

"On it." Danny had his phone out and hit speed dial before he finished speaking. "This is Danny Williams. Steve McGarrett's cat, Ninja, just got stung by a centipede. Yeah, we're on our way." He closed the phone. "They're expecting us."

Meanwhile, Steve fetched the gloves and put them on, reaching into the bushes and carefully picking up Ninja. He could feel the cat's heart racing, and his eyes were glazed over. "We have to hurry, Danny!"

"I'll get you there as fast as I can, babe," Danny promised. He made sure Steve and Ninja were settled in the passenger seat, then gunned the engine, hitting the lights and sirens.

Steve and Ninja were out of the car at the vet before Danny even had the engine off. Steve raced inside. "Steve McGarrett and Ninja. He got stung by a centipede!"

"We're expecting you," the receptionist said. "We have the anti-venom ready."

"Thank god!" Steve started towards the back, but the receptionist stopped him.

"You can't go back there, sir."

"But I have to!" Steve insisted. "I have to save Ninja."

Just then, the tech came through the door. "I've got him, Commander," she said, gently taking Ninja from Steve and disappearing through the door. Steve tried to follow, but Danny stopped him.

"Let them do there job, Steve. They'll take good care of him."

Steve stared forlornly at the door, wishing he could see through it. "He has to be alright, Danny! I can't lose him, too!" He was shaking and Danny could see he was fighting back tears.

"Shh, Steve, it's okay," Danny said soothingly. He turned to the receptionist. "Is there someplace we can go?"

She nodded. "You can use the breakroom."

Danny gently guided a distraught Steve into the break room and sat him in a chair, pulling another chair around to face him. Steve reached for Danny, burying his face in Danny's shoulder and bursting into tears. "He can't die, Danny! I don't know what I'd do without him!"

Danny rubbed his back. "It's going to be okay, Steve. He'll be fine. He's young, and healthy, and we got him here quickly."

"You don't know that Danny!" Steve sobbed.

The tech entered the room in time to hear the exchange. "No, he doesn't, but he's right—Ninja's in good health, and he has a good chance. I just need to you sign this paperwork."

Steve took a deep breath, pulling himself together, and signed the papers. "Now what?"

"Now we wait," Danny said.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long before the vet came in. "Commander McGarrett?"

Steve looked up expectantly. "How is he?"

The vet smiled at him. "We want to keep him overnight just to be sure, but he's going to be fine."

"Thank God," Steve said, relieved. "Can I see him?"

"Certainly." The vet led the way back. "He's hooked up to an IV, and he's sleeping right now, but you're welcome to see him."

Steve looked at Ninja, stretched on a table, eyes closed, an IV attached to one leg. He would have been afraid Ninja was dead if the vet hadn't reassured him, and if he hadn't seen Ninja's chest rising and falling, much more evenly now. Steve reached out a hand and stroked him gently. "I'm glad you're going to be okay, buddy."

"Don't scare your daddy like that," Danny chided. "You, young man, are grounded for life."

Steve chuckled. "I don't think that works on cats, Danny."

"Well, I can try, can't I?" Danny also reached out to stroke the cat. "We're all glad you're going to be okay."

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A/N: Sadly, unless any of you have any ideas, this is the last Ninja story. :( I do have a couple of more Bullet ideas, though, and Dragon!Danny is still going strong. Thanks so much for reading and all your input!


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